CCNA Discovery

Networking for Home and Small Businesses

Lab 3.5.2 IP Addresses and Network Communication

Objectives
• Build a simple peer-to-peer network and verify physical connectivity.
• Assign various IP addresses to hosts and observe the effects on network communication

Background / Preparation
In this lab, you will build a simple peer-to-peer network using two PCs and an Ethernet crossover cable. You
will assign various compatible and non-compatible IP addresses to the hosts and determine the effects on
their ability to communicate.
The following resources are required:
NOTE: You may use the small peer-to-peer network that was built in Lab 3.1.5
• Two Windows XP Professional PCs, each with an installed and functional Network Interface Card
(NIC)
• An Ethernet cross-over cable to connect the PCs (provided by instructor)
• (Optional lab setup) A hub or switch and two straight-through cables to connect the PCs (provided by
instructor)

Step 1: Connect the PCs to create a peer-to-peer network

a. Obtain an Ethernet crossover cable provided by the instructor to connect the two PCs.
NOTE: (optional lab setup) The PCs may be connected to a hub (or switch) using two straight-
through cables. The following instructions assume you are using a crossover cable.
b. Plug one end of the cable into the Ethernet NIC of PC1. Plug the other end of the cable into the
Ethernet NIC of PC2. As you insert the cable, you should hear a click which indicates that the cable
connector is properly inserted into the port.

Step 2: Verify physical connectivity

a. After the Ethernet crossover cable is connected to both PCs, take a close look at each Ethernet port.
A link light (usually green or amber) indicates that physical connectivity has been established
between the two NICs. Try unplugging the cable from one PC then reconnecting it to verify that the
light goes off then back on.

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CCNA Discovery
Networking for Home and Small Businesses

b. Go to the Control Panel, double click the Network Connections icon, and confirm that the local
area connection is established. The following figure shows an active local area connection. If physical
connectivity problems exist, you will see a red X over the Local Area Connection icon with the words
Network cable unplugged.

c. If the Local Area Connection does not indicate that it is connected, troubleshoot by repeating Steps 1
and 2. You may also want to ask your instructor to confirm that you are using an Ethernet crossover
cable.

Step 3: Configure IP settings for the two PCs

a. Configure the logical IP addresses for the two PCs so that they are able to communicate using
TCP/IP. On PC1, go to the Control Panel, double click the Network Connections icon, and then right
click the connected Local Area Connection icon. Choose Properties from the pull-down menu.

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CCNA Discovery
Networking for Home and Small Businesses

b. Using the scroll bar in the Local Area Connection Properties window, scroll down to highlight Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP). Click the Properties button.

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CCNA Discovery
Networking for Home and Small Businesses

c. Select the Use the following IP address radio button and enter an IP address of 192.168.1.1 and a
subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. With this IP address and subnet mask, the network number the host
is on is 192.168.1.0 and 192.168.1.1 is the first host on the 192.168.1.0 network :

IP Address 192.168.1.1

Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0

d. Click OK, which will close the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window. Click the Close
button to exit the Local Area Connection Properties window.
e. Repeat steps 3a – 3d for the PC2 using an IP address of 192.168.1.2 and a subnet mask of
255.255.255.0. The network number this PC is on is 192.168.1.0 and 192.168.1.2 is the second host
on the 192.168.1.0 network.

IP Address 192.168.1.2

Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0

Step 4: Verify IP connectivity between the two PCs

NOTE: To test TCP/IP connectivity between the PCs, Windows Firewall must be disabled temporarily on both
PCs. Windows Firewall should be re-enabled after the tests have been completed.
a. On each PC, on the Windows XP desktop, click Start. From the Start menu, select Control Panel,
and double-click Network Connections.

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CCNA Discovery
Networking for Home and Small Businesses

b. Right-click the Local Area Connection icon and select Properties. Click the Advanced tab. Locate
and click the Settings button.
c. Make a note of whether the firewall settings are ENABLED (ON) for the Ethernet port or DISABLED
(OFF) for the Ethernet port. _____________________________________________________
d. If the firewall settings are enabled, click the Off (not recommended) radio button to disable the
firewall. The setting will be re-enabled in a later step. Click OK in this dialog box and the following to
apply this setting. Repeat Steps 4a-4d on the second PC.
e. Now that the two PCs are physically connected and configured correctly with IP addresses, we need
to make sure they communicate with each other. The ping command is a simple way to accomplish
this task. The ping command is included with the Windows XP operating system.
f. On PC1, go to Start, then Run. Type cmd, and then click OK. A Window command prompt window
will appear as shown in the following figure.
g. At the > prompt, type ping 192.168.1.2 and press Enter. A successful ping will verify the IP
connectivity. It should produce results similar to those shown in the figure that follows.

h. Repeat this procedure for PC2 but ping 192.168.1.1.

i. Close the Windows command prompt window on both PCs.

Step 5: Change IP address for PC2

a. On PC2, go to the Control Panel, double click the Network Connections icon, and then right click the
connected Local Area Connection icon. Choose Properties from the pull-down menu.
b. Using the scroll bar in the Local Area Connection Properties window, scroll down to highlight Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP). Click the Properties button.
c. Change the logical IP address for PC2 from 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.2.2 and leave the subnet mask
set to 255.255.255.0. On what network is PC2 now? _________________________________
d. Click OK, which will close the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window. Click the Close
button to exit the Local Area Connection Properties window.
e. Refer back to Step 3c. On what network is PC1? ____________________________________
f. The two PCs are still on the same physical Ethernet network. Are they on the same logical IP
network? _____________________

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CCNA Discovery
Networking for Home and Small Businesses

Step 6: Test network connectivity between the 2 PCs

a. On PC1, go to Start, then Run. Type cmd, and then click OK. A Window command prompt window
will appear.
b. At the > prompt, type ping 192.168.2.2 and press Enter. Was it successful? _________________
Why or why not? _________________________________________________________________
c. What type of networking device would allow the PCs to communicate? ______________________

Step 7: Change IP address for PC1

a. Using the procedure previously described, change the logical IP address for PC1 from 192.168.1.1 to
192.168.2.99 and leave the subnet mask set to 255.255.255.0. On what network is PC1 now?
_______________________________________________________________________________
b. Click OK, which will close the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window. Click the Close
button to exit the Local Area Connection Properties window.
c. The two PCs are still on the same physical Ethernet network. Are they on the same logical IP network
now? ___________________________________________________________________________

Step 8: Test network connectivity between the 2 PCs

a. On PC2, go to Start, then Run. Type cmd, and then click OK. A Window command prompt window
will appear.
b. At the > prompt, type ping 192.168.2.99 and press Enter. Was it successful? _________________
Why or why not? __________________________________________________________________

Step 9: (Optional – Use only if the Firewall was originally ENABLED) Re-enable the firewall
a. If you disabled the Windows Firewall in Step 4, click Start, select Control Panel, and click Network
Connections.
b. Right-click the Ethernet network connection icon and select Properties. Click the Advanced tab.
Locate and click Settings.
c. If the firewall settings are disabled (and they were enabled before this lab began), click the On radio
button to enable the firewall. Click OK in this dialog box and the following one to apply this setting.

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